The increases were widespread. Car dealers, home furnishing stores, building suppliers, clothing retailers and general merchandise stores all reported gains. Auto sales rose 6.7 percent, the department said, the most since last October.

In a separate report, the Labor Department said consumer prices edged just 0.1 percent in March. And excluding food and energy, prices were unchanged in March. Over the past 12 months, those prices have risen at the slowest pace in six years.

In the retail sales report, Commerce said excluding autos, sales rose 0.6 percent. That was also ahead of the 0.5 percent expected by analysts.

Economists closely watch retail sales for signs that consumer spending, which powers about 70 percent of the economy, is recovering. Consumers cut back sharply and boosted their savings during the Great Recession. But some appear to be spending more freely.

Still, economists caution that persistent unemployment and stagnant wages could restrain spending in the months ahead.

Retail sales rose for the third straight month in March as better weather and auto incentives encouraged greater spending.
The rise was more than economists had expected. It's the latest sign that consumer spending is rising fast enough to support a modest economic...